Details: There is absulutely NO better way to get to know Los Angeles than to get out of your car and hit the pavement. I’ve been doing that a lot lately and it’s shocking all of the things you can discover. Rather walk in a group? Well, here’s your chance… join a big walking community this weekend for all or just a part of THE BIG PARADE, a 2-day, 40-mile, 135-stairway walk. You’re invited!

Kind of like The Great Los Angeles Walk on steroids, THE BIG PARADE is a group effort, and the brain-child of of local stair explorer, Dan Koeppel. Dan undertook a five-year Los Angeles stair mapping/walking project that began in 2003 with a 47-stairway route through Silver Lake and now he’s mapped out a grand two-day walking even through Los Angeles. “The parade will start at the famous Angel’s Flight Stairway Downtown, and finish with six stairways leading up from Beachwood Canyon to the Hollywood Sign. The walk will cover approximately 40 miles and 135 stairways, and will include a camp-out at the mid-point (legalities permitting), the famous Music Box Stairs – site of the Oscar-winning Laurel & Hardy film of the same name – in Silver Lake. It will take place July 18 and 19th, 2009.”

“A core group of five to eight walkers will be doing the entire event. But – as the name “Big Parade” implies – the true nature of the journey is community-based. In addition to passing dozens of landmarks, we will be joined by community members, both individuals and in groups, as we pass through the city’s most diverse neighborhoods. The walk is broken into specific segments so that walkers of all ages and levels of fitness can join us at specific times (of course, anyone is welcome to meet us at any point along the way – and all are invited to join us at the end to celebrate the walk.)”

Think it’s a dumb idea? Well, their FAQ has an answer for that:

Q – The Big Parade is stupid.
A – You might be right. But not having one would be even stupider.